The Avatar's Embrace
by MoonlightSpirit
Summary: When Mako falls ill, Bolin can't help but worry about his older brother. Mako is the only family he has. That night, when Korra finds Bolin plagued by nightmares, she does her best to comfort him.


**This was inspired by a fan art I saw on deviant . com of Bolin and Korra, by starlinehodge. Link below, just delete the spaces ^-^**

**http : / / starlinehodge . deviantart . com / gallery / # / d4zv99p**

**So here's **_**The Avatar's Embrace**_**. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Legend of Korra**_**.**

They thought there was no need to worry. When Mako started coughing during practice, he brushed it off as no big deal, saying it was just a tickle in his throat. Korra first grew concerned when Mako started sweating excessively during practice, but he just said that he was pushing himself a bit too hard. Bolin insisted that Mako at least take a rest before their pro-bending match that night when Mako's bending turned slow and sluggish.

"You're no use to us dead," Bolin had joked, helping his brother up to their apartment. But the real trouble came during their match that night. Mako was already off his form and when an earth disk hit him square in the chest…he didn't get back up. The referee called for a timeout after it was obvious that Mako couldn't get back up.

Korra couldn't recall a time the arena was so silent.

The match was re-scheduled for another time and Mako taken out to the infirmary on a stretcher. Bolin and Korra had to wait in a small room while the healers worked on him. Pabu crawled up onto Korra's knee, his head tilted to the side as if to ask, _Will Mako be okay?_

"He'll be okay Pabu," Korra said softly, petting the fire ferret's head, trying to force a smile. Pabu made a soft noise before crawling into Bolin's lap and curling up there.

It seemed to be hours until one of the healers finally came out to the waiting room and Korra and Bolin shot up, flooding the healer with questions.

"He's sleeping now," the healer said, "He's quite sick and pushed himself much too hard with the training and this match. We're still trying to get his fever down, that's our biggest worry right now. Fevers are especially bad for firebenders since their body temperature is already higher than normal."

"Is he going to be okay?" Boling said. The tone of his voice nearly broke Korra's heart. He sounded like a child, lost and alone. The healer sighed.

"He'll recover," they said, "But no training or pro-bending for a while. You can see him if you want." The healer led them through a pair of dark wood doors to the immaculately clean infirmary. Mako was sleeping on a bed, almost as pale as the sheets he laid on.

Korra stayed back while Bolin and Mako talked, busying herself with looking out the window and petting Pabu who had taken a new residency around her neck.

"Hey Korra, what are you doing hiding all the way back there?" Mako's voice was horse and it tugged at Korra's heart to hear him sound so weak. She forced a small smile on her face as she walked over to him.

"You better get well soon," she mumbled, punching his shoulder playfully.

"Of course," he said, smiling up at her, "It's going to take more than a little fever to keep me down."

"Okay, he needs his rest," the healer was back to shoo Bolin and Korra out of the infirmary. It was on their walk to the stairs, where Korra and Bolin would part to go home, that Bolin spoke.

"Korra…would you mind staying the night with me?" Bolin asked, so softly that Korra almost didn't hear him.

"Huh?" she said, "Oh, sure…"

"I just…don't want to be alone tonight," he said, "You can stay in Mako's room."

"It's no problem Bolin," Korra said, putting a hand on his broad shoulder, "I'm worried about him too." Bolin gave her a weak smile and led the way up to the loft.

* * *

It was well into the night when a chattering near her ear woke Korra up.

"Mmmm, five more minutes Naga," she mumbled, rolling over and putting the pillow over her head. The move was retaliated with a nip at her hand. Korra gasped in pain, throwing the pillow to the side to see Pabu, tugging at her pants leg.

"What is it Pabu?" she grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She was answered with another nip at her leg.

"Ouch, okay, I'm up!" Korra snapped, crawling out of bed. Pabu darted out of the room and Korra was beginning to wonder if something was really wrong. Pabu had never acted like this before. She followed the fire ferret down the hall and that's when she heard it. A mumbling, like someone talking in their sleep. But they sounded…distressed.

Korra followed Pabu when he darted into a room off to the right. Korra ran in right after and finally saw what Pabu had been so urgent about.

Bolin was in his bed, tangled in the green sheets, mumbling something in his sleep. His brow has furrowed and he tossed and turned.

"Bolin," Korra whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking his shoulder, "Bo, wake up. You're having a nightmare." When he didn't respond, Korra shook him harder.

"Bolin, wake up," she said. Finally, Bolin's green eyes shot open, his breathing fast, darting around the room before finally focusing on Korra.

"Are you okay?" Korra asked, "Looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare." Bolin sighed, turning onto his side so that his back was to Korra.

"I…I'm fine," Bolin whispered.

"If you were fine, Pabu wouldn't have woke me up in the middle of the night to see what was wrong with you," Korra said. Bolin threw a glare in the direction of the fire ferret, who was now curled comfortably in his little bed in the corner.

"What were you dreaming about?" Korra asked. She was never really good with comforting people – unless it was one of the Tenzin's kids since their problems were usually nothing bigger than a scrapped knee and easily fixed – but she could try. When Bolin stayed quiet, Korra moved so that she could sit cross-legged on the bed, placing a hand on his arm.

"Bolin, talk to me," she said softly. Bolin let out a long sigh before speaking.

"Mako's the only family I have left," he said, "And when he gets sick like this…I can't help but be scared I'm going to lose him. I have nightmares sometimes…" Bolin's voice cracked at the last word, but Korra didn't need to hear anymore.

That's when Korra did something that was bold, even for her. She crawled into Bolin's bed, wrapping her arms around him, snuggling up to him. His skin was softer than she expected under fingertips and his scent reminded her of a clean, spring day.

"Everything is going to be okay Bolin," she mumbled into his back. For a while, Bolin was still and Korra wondered if her move was a mistake. But then, he moved his hand up to hold Korra's.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

Bolin slept the rest of the night without any more nightmares, comforted by the Avatar's embrace.

**So there's **_**The Avatar's Embrace. **_**I hope you all liked it! Please Review!**

**Please follow me on twitter! I'll be posting upcoming stories, delays, etc. My name on twitter is **_**MoonlghtSpirit**_**, link on my profile ^-^**


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